Progress being made with SF Intermediate School

By Deana Carpenter

For The Almanac

writer@thealmanac.net

The new South Fayette Intermediate School is more than halfway completed. According to Dave Allen, construction superintendent for P.J. Dick, the district’s construction management firm, the district has paid out about $16.5 million towards the new school and has a balance of about $8 million to finish the project.

Allen also informed the school board at the March 19 meeting that all the plumbing rough-ins have been completed in the new building, as well as a lot of the tile and masonry. The STEAM room, which stands for science, technology, engineering, arts and math, is also coming together, with its brightly-colored painted walls nearly complete.

HVAC chillers and rooftop units have been put into place on the new building and framing of the main entryway has also begun.

Allen went over several change orders for the project with the board, including changing a dock leveler from electric to manual and tying downspouts into the storm water system. Allen also talked about an issue of site remediation work that may need to be done in three areas of the site due to what he called “unsuitable soil.”

Cassandra Renninger of Eckles Architecture said that the firm had “denoted areas that were soft spots” this past summer and was able to get a bid for how much it would cost to fix it. Last year, the bid was about $80,000, but the bid has since been lowered by negotiation, Renninger said.

Allen said the largest soft spot is near the bus road and others are near the road where the construction trailers are currently housed; another spot is in the loop in front of the building. The board will further discuss the soil issue and the other change orders at its March 26 meeting.

Also at the March 19 meeting, the board talked about an administrative recommendation to enter into an agreement to finance the Intermediate School network. The cost of the network would be about $130,800 and the wireless would cost about $55,600. District Director of Finance Brian Tony said the equipment would be financed over a five-year period.

The district is considering either Laurel Capital Corporation or PNC Equipment Finance. Tony said PNC’s rate is 1.86 percent and Laurel Capital’s is 1.87.

Tony said the payback difference would amount to about $65. He said Laurel Capital’s prepayment penalty is one percent and PNC’s is two percent, although both of the prepayment penalties for each company go away in two years. The board is expected to vote on the matter at the March 26 meeting. The cost of the network and wireless at the new school is included in the 2012-13 budget.